


The Way of the Otter

by wingsofice (grarnarye)



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Banter, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, disgusting tooth rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-07 23:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20825273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grarnarye/pseuds/wingsofice
Summary: Maybe it was the ridiculousness of this whole incident, and maybe it was the fact that she really just wanted to go to sleep after all this, but Reimu really, really wanted to hug someone right now.After the Beast World Incident, Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu decide to crash at the shrine. By the time night falls, not many things are left unsaid.





	The Way of the Otter

It was another warm evening at the Hakurei Shrine. The path was basked in shadow as the orange sun began to sink below the shrine’s horizon, the sky painted a serene mix of oranges, purples and reds. It was rather barren of humans and even youkai at this hour; too late for worshippers to safely make a round trip, and too early for any reasonable kind of drinking party. Fortunately, for the two-and-a-half humans approaching the shrine from the air, it was the perfect conditions for relaxation.

Reimu Hakurei descended near the shrine steps, stumbling a bit upon landing. She winced quietly as she caught herself on a support beam, the hard wood aggravating the cuts on her hands. Marisa Kirisame and Youmu Konpaku followed her lead soon after, both riding in on Marisa’s broom. They touched down, and Marisa supported Youmu with a shoulder as they climbed off. Marisa pushed her witch’s hat up with a huff; it had definitely seen better days, but that wasn’t too surprising, Reimu thought.

Any other observations were quickly pushed to the back of Reimu’s mind; all of her limbs felt like lead, she had more than a couple gashes on her extremities, and she wanted to just sit down and not exist for a while. Unfortunately, though, it would be rude to leave the other two to fend for themselves, especially when they helped with the incident just as much as she did. And so, she pushed out a noise that hopefully sounded like “I’ll make some tea” before trudging up the steps and into the shrine.

Reimu slowly made her way to the kitchen and flipped the stove on. She poured some water, let it start boiling, and began preparing some tea leaves… or, at least, that’s what she thought she was going to do. Her limbs completely froze up. She panicked briefly, but as they started moving again outside of her own accord, she registered what was happening; it was the same feeling she got when that otter spirit took over her body earlier today. It seemed like it knew what she was going to ask, too, because she started speaking out loud.

“You looked like you were having trouble. This is the least I can do to repay your cooperation with the Kiketsu family,” Reimu heard her voice say.

_ I didn’t really give you permission to do that, but whatever, _ she thought back. Frankly, she was too exhausted to care, and if someone was going to help her out, she wouldn’t complain. Noticing that the otter spirit hadn’t responded--maybe it felt her sentiment anyway--she mentally checked out, letting the spirit prepare the tea.

* * *

When Reimu re-entered the main room carrying the tea tray, Marisa and Youmu were already seated next to each other, snug under the kotatsu. Marisa had apparently tossed her hat off, as it was now laying in one corner of the room, and she was resting her head on the table. If it weren’t for the soft “Hey” she got from her, she’d have figured she was already asleep. Youmu, on the other hand, was sitting up perfectly straight. 

“You don’t have to look so wary, Youmu”, Reimu said, setting the tea tray down. “The incident’s over.”

Youmu jumped in her seat slightly, earning a snort from Marisa. She smoothed her skirt and replied, “Yes, I understand. It’s just been a long while since I’ve been asked to solve an incident, much less one of such scale…” Youmu visibly seemed to deflate with each word like air was being let out of a balloon; by the end, her head was resting on the kotatsu as well. She gave an exaggerated sigh, continuing, “Lady Haniyasushin was no joke.” 

“Tell me ‘bout it,” Marisa mumbled. While Reimu sat down across from her, she sat up with a grunt and continued in a mock imitation of Keiki; “‘I’m gonna reform you out of water and clay!’ Who says that? Though it was honestly kinda intimidating, comin’ from her.” Youmu nodded in agreement.

“The worst part is,” Reimu said, “I managed to lose to a clay statue that’s never even fought before. Of course,” she took a sip of her tea, “Youmu cut through her like she was paper mache. I won’t lie, watching it from the sidelines was kind of cool.” 

Youmu sat up straight once more, seemingly rejuvenated from the compliment. “Well, you know what they say about my Roukanken…”

Marisa raised a finger; “Only you say that.”

“Hey, you don’t know that. I’m sure Lady Yuyuko talks about it all the time.” 

“Mmmmhm,” Reimu said, and she raised her cup to hide the growing smirk on her lips. 

“Well, either way, you saw it. Those haniwas were no match for the power of my dual blades.” 

“Yeah, but then Marisa had to come in and save your ass not 5 minutes later.” 

“I fail to see how that’s related to the ability of my swords,” Youmu pouted. 

“Oh, it isn’t. It was pretty funny, though.” Reimu felt her smile widen further when Marisa giggled.

The witch added, “I dunno ‘bout you, but when I had to finish off the clay lady that second time, I thought she almost seemed disappointed.”

  
  
“Mmh,” Reimu said. “Maybe she had the hots for Youmu or something.” 

Youmu violently spit out the tea she was drinking, very nearly dropping her cup in the process. “D-don’t suggest things like that out of the blue!” Youmu’s flushed retort was hardly heard over the sound of Reimu and Marisa doubled over laughing. While they calmed down, she wiped her mouth and added, “And-and we’ve already established that she’s made out of clay, so she probably doesn’t have the capability to feel that way about people.” 

“Woooah,” Marisa said in a mock accusatory tone, raising her hands up. “Isn’t that a little discriminatory?”

“I-is it?” Genuine concern flashed on Youmu’s face.

“Well, sure. Object-based youkai fall in love all the time. Like that umbrella tsukumogami…”

“Or the drum tsukumogami…” Reimu added.

“Or that other instrument one-- it’s a lotta tsukumogami but ya get the picture.”

“Mmh, I suppose so…” Youmu trailed off, screwing her eyes shut and yawning wide. While she stretched, her ghost half lazily settled onto the table. “Joutouguu, if you’re out there somewhere, I would like to offer you a formal apology.” 

“Hey, why are you talking about her like she’s dead or something?” Reimu asked incredulously.

“No reason,” Youmu’s lips settled into a cat-like smile as she leaned to the side, resting her head on Marisa’s left shoulder. 

Marisa looked down at her with an amused smile. “You good there, Yooms?” 

Youmu nodded slightly in response, though made no effort to move her head from its resting spot. “Mind if I stay like this?” 

“Eh, don’t see why not.” Youmu sighed happily in response to Marisa’s affirmation, further sinking into Marisa’s shoulder like a well-worn couch. A comfortable silence overtook the three of them, Reimu observing the scene with mild amusement. She did notice Marisa had a weird look on her face, but she figured it wasn’t much. Maybe Youmu was pressing on one of her wounds, or something. Though, she thought she could make out the hints of a blush on Marisa’s cheeks…

Apparently, she’d made up her mind on something. Marisa rotated her torso backwards slightly, then hooked an arm around Youmu’s torso, pulling her into the witch’s chest. Reimu’s eyebrows shot up, and when the half-human grunted in confusion, Marisa offered a nervous chuckle. “It just felt like somethin’ I should be doin’, I dunno…” She looked at the ceiling before continuing, avoiding eye contact with the two of them. “It-it felt like Youmu needed a hug, so who am I to turn her down?” 

“Er, I mean… I do not mind, exactly…” Youmu started, her cheeks tinted a light pink. “Normally, I’m not extremely fond of physical contact, but this is… nice.” 

“Cool, so I don’t gotta walk away and shoot an amnesia spell at you or anything,” Marisa wisecracked, though Reimu noticed her eyes seemed to have softened a lot. It looked like the two were almost melting into each other, Youmu resting against Marisa, Marisa’s arm wrapped around Youmu… Marisa glanced at Reimu, and she arched an eyebrow. “Hey, you can join us too if ya want.” 

“...Eh?” Reimu blinked, lifting her head from out of her hands (though she hadn’t even noticed she was beginning to lean on the kotatsu.) “What are you talking about?” 

“Just a second ago, you were lookin’ at us with sad puppy eyes. If you wanna come over, we aren’t gonna stop ya…”

“I mean…” the shrine maiden didn’t know what she was talking about, of course, but for some reason she felt that remark stab at something inside her. “Yeah, I kinda want to be over there too.” After she said that, Reimu blinked; once it registered what exactly she said, she twisted her face in confusion.

_ A-allow me to explain _ , a voice inside her head spoke up; right, the otter spirit. _ Since we’ve been possessing you three for a while, I believe we’re still influencing your personalities somewhat… _

Reimu groaned outwardly. She pushed her head into her hands, thinking to the spirit, _ Is that why I feel so mushy every time I look at the two of them? _

_ In a word, yes, _ the spirit replied. _ Though I’d like to remind you these feelings are yours; they’re just being amplified. _

_ Please just go away, _ she thought in as aggressive a thought-tone as she could muster.

_ As you wish _, it said, and then the spirit was silent.

Reimu sighed mentally. Thinking about it, the worst part was… the spirit wasn’t wrong. Maybe it was the ridiculousness of this whole incident, and maybe it was the fact that she really just wanted to go to sleep after all this, but Reimu really, _ really _ wanted to hug someone right now. And when two of her close friends are right across from her, even inviting her to do just that... It wasn’t much of a question.

“Alright, I’m coming over.” Reimu grunted as she stood up, walking the short distance over to the pair, and sat down with a _ thump _ next to Youmu. Wordlessly, she awkwardly wriggled her right arm across the both of them, pulling herself towards them. Once she settled in, her first thought was… Youmu was warm. Surprisingly so, for a half-human. Marisa was, too. Their mere presence relaxed her, and she let her body sink into them like it was made of putty. 

It all felt a bit ridiculous to her. Under any normal circumstances, Reimu would never accept this kind of physical contact, much less embrace it. From Marisa, maybe, but cuddling was out of the question for anyone except her. And yet, in this moment, she had to admit to herself that this just felt totally and utterly _ right _. This was her calling in life. Snuggling up next to Youmu and Marisa… if these were her last moments, she would be dying happy. A small, content smile took over her face, and she glanced between her two companions. Her gaze stopped on Youmu after a moment, and her face went blank as she considered her options.

Reimu lifted her left hand and rested it on Youmu’s back, rubbing it in small circles. She swore she could hear Youmu purr in response, and Reimu chuckled contentedly. She felt Marisa laugh, too, and Reimu’s head buzzed as Marisa said, “What are ya, a cat?” 

“Maybe,” Youmu said, tilting her head to look at Marisa. “I’m kinda feeling like one, yeah. Maybe I should curl up in your lap or something.” 

“Nah, I think I’m good.” Marisa said casually, though there was definitely more of a blush on her cheeks than there was before.

Reimu thought for a moment. “You know, this position is good and all, but I think we’d all be more comfortable if we laid down.”

  
“Eh? Oh, sure,” Marisa nodded and shifted her weight a bit. “Goin’ down,” she finished as she slowly lowered her back to rest on the floor, Reimu and Youmu following with her. Once she got settled, the three were lined up in a loose row, with Youmu in the center, Reimu and Marisa on either side. The witch chuckled again and said, “Damn, maybe I am a cat lady.” 

“Mm…” Youmu scooted up the cuddle pile, hugging herself. “May I say something?”

“Sure,” Reimu and Marisa both said.

“...I missed this.” Her face flushed and she continued, “I-I mean, not this exactly, but…! Solving incidents and enjoying the peace afterwards. Working together with you two is always fun, even when there’s a great risk of death involved.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Reimu said. She looked up at the ceiling, continuing, “I probably don’t express it often enough, but I’m really glad to have people around who can help me solve incidents and stuff. It’s my job, and I probably shouldn’t be dragging others into it, but… I’m still glad. I don’t think I would like doing any of this alone.” Once the words were out of her mouth, Reimu was half-prepared to regret it. However, it felt like a small weight was lifted off her chest. Being able to tell this to the two people she trusted the most at the moment was cathartic. 

There was a considerable pause before Marisa said anything. “...Damn. Well, if we’re goin’ ahead and sayin’ stuff, I, er, wanna try somethin’ real quick,” she trailed off, yawning quietly. “Youmu, c’mere.” 

“I’m already here, though…” Even so, Youmu turned her head to look at Marisa. Marisa got up onto her knees, and, crouching over Youmu, nuzzled into her forehead. 

Reimu was struck by the realization that, yes, they are doing a cat thing, and giggled quietly. Marisa drew her head back, blushing. “I-I just wanted to try it, kay? I dunno what’s goin’ on with me tonight.” Youmu, though, was grinning wide.

“Just like a cat,” she said, tapping Marisa’s nose in what can only be described as a boop. She let loose an “Ack,” rearing backwards a bit and rubbing her nose with an exaggerated pout. 

Though she was enjoying this spectacle, Reimu was beginning to realize just how exhausted she was; she could feel her eyelids drooping already. She yawned, patting the ground next to her and pulling Youmu in close. Marisa, thankfully, took the message and laid back down on the other side. “I’m bushed,” Reimu said. “Wanna just… go to sleep like this?” 

“I have zero problems with that,” Youmu said. 

“Me neither,” Marisa added. 

“Good,” Reimu said, and she did something her exhausted brain only briefly considered. She leaned over and kissed each of them on the cheek; a soft, but slow kiss, just pressing the lips to their warm skin. Reimu enjoyed watching their flushed faces before laying back down, letting her eyes finally close and snuggling in close. “Good night,” she said with a satisfied smile.

“G-good-good night!” Youmu pushed out, while Marisa muttered out the same. Reimu barely heard their responses before the sweet embrace of sleep took her, snuggled up against the safety of her two closest companions. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written on a total whim in like 3 hours, inspired by GCMushroom's disgustingly cute art (seen here: https://twitter.com/GCMushroom/status/1129686118146793473?s=19 ). Otters are adorable as hell.


End file.
